Egg cleaning and sanitizing machine



July 15, 1952 w. SLOCUM ETAL 2,603,039

EGG CLEANING AND SANITIZING MACHINE Filed Aug. 10, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 PEG. 1!

FIG. 3

' INVENTORS WILLIAM'L. SLOOUH HAROLD L. HAG GARD BY aa mbah ATTORNEY y 1952 w. SLOCUM ETAL 2,603,039

EGG CLEANING AND SANITIZING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 10, 1951 INVENTORJ WILLIAM L. SLOGUM HAROLD L, HAGGARD ATTORNEY W. L. SLOCUM ETAL EGG CLEANING AND SANITIZING MACHINE July 15, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 10, 1951 INVENTORS' WILLIAM L. sLocuM' HAROLD L. HAGGARD BY K M.

w u lc ATTORNEY y 1952 w. L. SLOCUM ETAL 2,603,039

EGG CLEANING AND SANITIZING MACHINE Filed Aug. 10, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 8

FIG 7 m g INVENTORJ WILLIAM L. SLOCUM r v HAROLD L.. HAGGARD N i m a 9 BY w MWCQB ATTORNEY Patented July 15, 1952 r 2,s03,039 Y see CLEANING AND SAN lITI Z I NG MACHINE 1 William L. siomm and Harold L. Haggard;-

Miami, Fla.

Application August 10, 1951, Serial No. 241,132;

This invention relates to egg cleaning and sanitizing machines and, more particularly, to improvements in methods and apparatus to effect substantial sterilization of the egg shell surface in the cleaning process.

We are aware that machines have heretofore been built for the removal of dirt from egg shell surfaces by directing thereagainst successive impacts of abrasive strips and providing a housing or chamber through which the eggs were passed for this'purpose. We have found that the dirtladen dust thus freed from the egg surfaces'ultimately settles within interior recesses of the chamber and that the mechanisms therein, as well as the eggs, become coated with this residual dust despite blower means employed to evacuate the same. It is well known in the art, thateggs arriving from production centers carry an excessive amount of dirt on their shell surfaces and, further, that a potential source of bacterial and germ contamination likewise resides therein. Thus, while the surface dirt may well have left the shells, the abrasive strips having swiped them clean in transit through the cleaning chamber, the packaged eggs may ultimately arrive at distribution points or in the home with bacterial and germ infestation intact thereon from the residual dust settling on the egg surfaces in passage through the abrasive step of the process.

It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus and method of the character and for the purposes described which will effectively remove surface dirt from eggs and substantially prevent or minimize the transmission of bacterial infestation or contamination thereby.

A further object is to provide egg cleaning and sanitizing apparatus which will be simple in operation and efiicient in use.

Another object is to provide an egg cleaning and sanitizing machine which may be readily. and economically manufactured and maintained in service.

Other advantages of the invention will bediscernible from the detailed description thereof hereinafter set forth.

According to the invention, the apparatus comprises an elongated egg cleaning and sanitizing chamber through which the eggs are conducted and subjected to abrasive action for the removal of dirt from the shell surfaces thereof, germicidal light sources positioned in the chamber to direct radiations toward and through an air stream carrying the dirt laden dust resulting from the abrasive process whereby to sterilize the dust and thus the interior of the chamber and the eggs in 2 Claims. (01. 51-23) transit therethrough. and means operable .to move the eggs through the chamber and induce the'air stream therein, and effect'its discharge therefrom. The invention is embodied in egg cleaning and sanitizing apparatus exemplified in the accompanying drawings in which the views are as 'fol. lows, like reference numerals designating identical parts throughout'the several views: Fig. 1, a side elevation of the machine;..-: .F

L Fig. 2, an isometric detail of the conveyor structure; Fig. 3, 'a fractional sectional detail on line 31-73, of Fig. 1; s

Fig. 4, a section in'part taken on line l-,4 of

Fig. 5;

Fig. 5', an elevation of the delivery end of the apparatus;

- Fig. 6, a section on line 66 of Fig; 1;

Fig. 7, a section in part taken on line 'l--1- of Fig.-, 5;

:,:Fig. 8, a schematic diagram of the gear assembly driving the'iapparatus; and t Fig. 9, a schematic diagram of the power transmission driving the conveyor from the inner shaft drive-of the apparatus.

As illustrated in the drawings, the apparatus includes an elongated housing forming achamber defined by a pair of side walls I, end walls 2, a

bottom 3, and laterally areuate top 4. Extending longitudinally through this chamber, is abelt conveyor 5, the loading end of which is passed over a tail-wheel 6 mounted ina bracket 6A. At the delivery end thereof the conveyor is pa sed over a head-wheel I; mounted in abracket 1A. These wheel supporting'brackets project endwise of "the housing from which they are spaced to provide convenient :working stations at each end of the machine for the handling of the eggs conducted therethrough. The end walls} are apertured as at 8,(Figs. 5 and 6), forming passageways therethrough for the conveyor and providing air intake openings for a purpose to behereinafter described. i i v The belt conveyor carries .a plurality of a upstandingpartitions "9 (Fig. 2) which are spaced apart .at intervals approximating the minor axis of the egg for the loose reception thereof between adjacent, partitions, which may be secured at their bases to the belt fabric in any suitable manner known inthe art. 7

Arranged along the side marginal edges of the conveyor, is a pair of laterally spaced rails l0 (Fig. 2), which extend throughout the housing and may be supported therein from any isuitable framing structure (not shown) These rails have convex inner faces, against which the end portions of each egg are adapted to bear. Thus, as each egg is carried at its mid-portion by its weight upon the belt, the frictional engagement of its end portions with the rails I0 imparts a rolling motion to the egg which is thereby rotated upon its major axis, as will be seen.

The housing has mounted'therein', :a 'pair of laterally spaced abrading shafts I I and I IA (Figs. 4 and '7), which may be journaled for rotation through the end walls 2.

spaced outwardly therefrom. Arranged on the shafts, is a plurality of abrasive loops or strips shown only generally at I2 (Fig. 6), the function of which is to rotate with their supporting shafts whereby to deliver a succession of swiping impacts against the surfaces of the eggs conducted through the housing. These abrasive elements may, if desired, take the form described in U. S. Patent 1,964,295, dated June 26, 1934, or any similar construction-practicable for the purpose here intended. Motive power for the apparatus may be derived from a fractional horsepower motor I3 (Figs. 4 and '7), secured as by a bracket member I4 against the outer face of the adjacent end wall 2 at the delivery end of the machine. The motor-shaft I5 is coupled in driving alinement with one of the abrading shafts I I on which is fixed a driving gear I6. This gear is connected,

through a pair of twin spur gears IT, with a driven gear I8 fixed upon the opposite abrading shaft HA. The spur gears I'I idle upon a pair of corresponding stub shafts I9 which may be journaled in a plate 2A carried by the adjacent end wall 2. The abrading shafts II and HA are thus operable in opposite rotational movement as illustrated by the diagram in Fig. 8, to deliver a downwardly directed abrasive impact against the surfaces of the eggs moving through the housing for the removal of surface dirt therefrom, as will be understood.

The opposite abrading shaft I IA terminates in a. worm shaft 20 which drives a worm gear 2I (Figs. 4, 5, and 7). The worm gear is fixed on a shaft 22 journaled in a supporting bracket 23, and fixed on this shaft is a drive pulley 24. Through a belt 25, the drive pulley 24 motivates a driven pulley 26 which rotates a shaft 21 carried in-the supporting bracket IA. The shaft 21 rotates the head wheel I and thus the driving assembly herein set forth operates from a single motor to motivate both the abrading shafts II and I IA and the conveyor 5.

The construction thus far described is operable,

as will be seen, to conduct the eggs through the housing and at the same time remove the surface 'dirt therefrom. This operation fills the housing with a fine dust in which is entrained whatever germ or bacteria infestation the eggs may have These shafts are each disposed at a distance above the conveyor and.

chamber through air inlets formed by the apertures 8 in the end Walls of the housing, previously described; the fan and its drive assembly may be supported in any convenient manner (not shown) from adjacent housing structure, as by any suitable spider framing or the like.

In practice, the housing will be seen to provide an elongated chamber through which the eggs are conducted to receive the impact of the abrasive elements, thereby filling the chamber with dirtand germ-entrained dust. This dust is carried by the air stream hereinabove described to exhaust to atmosphere, but some portion of the dust tends to return to the lower region of the chamber, settling on interior mechanisms and on the eggs remaining in the housing. The germicidal light source, however, is adapted to irradiate the dust-laden stream and sterilize the same whereby to render harmless any residual dust impinging upon eggsleft in the housing for any purpose. The housing may be built with a hingeable top or sides as desired to afford access to interior mechanisms. Suitable supporting structure or framing, as at F, maybe devised to'bring the machine to a convenient working level.

Of-course, the invention is susceptible to a variety of changes in design without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Egg cleaning apparatus comprising, in combination, an elongated housing forming a chamber and a belt conveyor to conduct a plurality of eggs in longitudinal passage therethrough, said conveyor including a head wheel and a shaft in driveable support thereof, a pair of rotatable abrading shafts disposed along each side and above said conveyor and abrasive elements carried by said shafts and rotatable thereby to deliver a succession of downwardly directed swiping movements against the surfaces of said eggs, a motor having the shaft thereof in driveable axial alinement with one of said abrading shafts and a driving gear fixed thereon, a driven gear fixed upon the opposite abrading shaft and a pair of twin spur gears interposed intermediate both said gears to effect simultaneous rotation of said abrading shafts in opposed rotational directions, said opposite abrading shaft terminating in a worm shaft and a worm gear in mesh therewith, a stub shaft driveably supporting said worm gear and a drive pulley fixed on said stub shaft, a driven pulley fixed upon said head wheel shaft and a belt operatively connecting said pulleys whereby to drive said conveyor and said abrading shafts from said motor, electrical conductor means energizing said motor.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, and: said housing having an aperture in each end adjacent the bottom thereof, each of said apertures forming a common conveyor passageway and air intake opening, a fan casing carried by said housing at the top and centrally thereof and forming a fan chamber in communication WILLIAM L. snocuM. HAROLD L. HAGGARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Miller et a1 Oct. 29, 1935 Haddad July 5, 1938 Bitner Feb. 6, 1940 Mulvany Dec. 1'7, 1940 Manggaard Mar. 18, 1941 Wright Sept. 4, 1951 Olson Feb. 5, 1952 

